Neumann KH120 II Monitor Review

[dfuller]

That is entirely false and laughable. Neumann monitors are the finest in the world and they are not inwall. Read the measurements of the KH 120 II and KH 150 here on ASR.

Cool it with the fanboyism. Neumanns are great. They are not world beaters.

 

[teashea]

Cool it with the fanboyism. Neumanns are great. They are not world beaters.

Actually if you examine Amir's measurements, they are.

 

[Pearljam5000]

Cool it with the fanboyism. Neumanns are great. They are not world beaters.

I blocked him a long time ago

 

[FutureFrenzy]

So the port resonance is audible? Would adding a subwoofer affect this?

 

[IamJF]

I'm not sure if it's audible - but it is there. A subwoofer alone will not help, you would need to close/dampen the reflex channels.
With the older KH120 I had the impression midrange resolution improves when I dampen the reflex openings (Setup with subwoofer, so port gain was not needed). But midrange is noticeable better with KH120ii anyways, even in normal operation with open reflex tubes, so I never did these trials.

 

[DuneArchitect]

> But midrange is noticeable better with KH120ii anyways, even in normal operation with open reflex tubes, so I never did these trials.

Read through all 35 pages to finally get some subjective comparison of the 120 ii's vs the older 120A's

Thank you. I've been trying to decide if I'm going for some used 120A's for half the price over the new KH 120 ii's. Right now I'm leaning toward the new generation, especially considering the MA1 mic is currently included in the bundle.

Going to be pairing with a Genelec 7050C sub.. still fairly new to home professional audio setups so will play around with different configurations and report back. (The reason I picked up the Genelec Sub is I found one used for significantly cheaper than I can find the KH750)

 

[vssyla]

If you really want it precise ... get an MA-1 and do the calibration. Or borrow one if you are not sure.

finally getting around to calibrating with the MA-1.... i didn't read the manual unfortunately before hand, and realize i need a network switch... my situation is, i have a macbook and a pc desktop both which i want to use the software on. Im nowhere near a router (router is in living room, my setup is in my bedroom). im just using wifi from my studio (bedroom). How do i even setup this configuration this way? how can i use a switch in my studio when the router is so far away.... wifi extender -> switch -> neumans ?? possible?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BK2DKYCH/ref=emc_bcc_2_i?th=1 extender im looking at

 

[DJBonoBobo]

finally getting around to calibrating with the MA-1.... i didn't read the manual unfortunately before hand, and realize i need a network switch... my situation is, i have a macbook and a pc desktop both which i want to use the software on. Im nowhere near a router (router is in living room, my setup is in my bedroom). im just using wifi from my studio (bedroom). How do i even setup this configuration this way? how can i use a switch in my studio when the router is so far away.... wifi extender -> switch -> neumans ?? possible?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BK2DKYCH/ref=emc_bcc_2_i?th=1 extender im looking at

Extender -> switch -> Neumann should work, yes.
But AFAIK PC -> switch -> Neumann also works, at least for calibration and when router is out of the equation. I tried this once.
But i don’t know if this works also when router is present, i did not try this.

 

[HarmonicTHD]

finally getting around to calibrating with the MA-1.... i didn't read the manual unfortunately before hand, and realize i need a network switch... my situation is, i have a macbook and a pc desktop both which i want to use the software on. Im nowhere near a router (router is in living room, my setup is in my bedroom). im just using wifi from my studio (bedroom). How do i even setup this configuration this way? how can i use a switch in my studio when the router is so far away.... wifi extender -> switch -> neumans ?? possible?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BK2DKYCH/ref=emc_bcc_2_i?th=1 extender im looking at

wifi extender -> switch -> neumans

Yes that works. It is what I use. (I have Asus, but extender brand shouldnt matter).

 

[dominikz]

finally getting around to calibrating with the MA-1.... i didn't read the manual unfortunately before hand, and realize i need a network switch... my situation is, i have a macbook and a pc desktop both which i want to use the software on. Im nowhere near a router (router is in living room, my setup is in my bedroom). im just using wifi from my studio (bedroom). How do i even setup this configuration this way? how can i use a switch in my studio when the router is so far away.... wifi extender -> switch -> neumans ?? possible?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BK2DKYCH/ref=emc_bcc_2_i?th=1 extender im looking at

As far as I see from the MA1 product page you don't need a router nor extender to do the calibration - just a plain network switch that supports IPv6 with enough ports to connect the PC and each loudspeaker/sub.
After calibration is done you can disconnect the switch, since DSP settings are saved in the loudspeakers/subs themselves.

 

[HarmonicTHD]

As far as I see from the MA1 product page you don't need a router nor extender to do the calibration - just a plain network switch that supports IPv6 with enough ports to connect the PC and each loudspeaker/sub.
After calibration is done you can disconnect the switch, since DSP settings are saved in the loudspeakers/subs themselves.

Correct... unless one does not have a network outlet near the KHs, like me and most likely the OP as I understood him.

 

[dominikz]

Correct... unless one does not have a network outlet near the KHs, like me and most likely the OP as I understood him.

Sure, but I meant the OP could buy a 10$ plain network 5-port switch for the calibration, directly connect loudspeakers and laptop with ethernet cables to the switch, do the calibration and remove the cables and switch.
No network wall outlets are required for this, nor any connection to the router.

Of course this would not be convenient if permanent connection is needed (for network control, calibration tweaking etc.)

 

[IamJF]

Yes - did that too and it worked. Just a cheap switch and 3 cables.

 

[IamJF]

> But midrange is noticeable better with KH120ii anyways, even in normal operation with open reflex tubes, so I never did these trials.

Read through all 35 pages to finally get some subjective comparison of the 120 ii's vs the older 120A's

There should be a comparison from me in the beginning of this thread?
Let's see if i find it somewhere.

Thank you. I've been trying to decide if I'm going for some used 120A's for half the price over the new KH 120 ii's. Right now I'm leaning toward the new generation, especially considering the MA1 mic is currently included in the bundle.

Long term I would go for the ii with MA-1. But when you can get an old version for a good price you can sell it in a few years without loss and try to get a pair of KH120ii for a good price. But I would be to lazy for that, I just bought a pair ;-)

Going to be pairing with a Genelec 7050C sub.. still fairly new to home professional audio setups so will play around with different configurations and report back. (The reason I picked up the Genelec Sub is I found one used for significantly cheaper than I can find the KH750)

Of course is it cheaper - it's 8" without DSP.
So when on a budget I would probably go with used KH120. When planning on doing an upgrade to the full Neumann System over time go with KH120ii but you would need the KH750 sub too cause of the crossover and phase management with MA-1 measurement system. And yes - this sub is really expensive for waht it does .... but MA-1 only works perfect when all components work together. And it makes a BIG difference.

 

[jhaider]

Well, this review and the Sound und Recording measurements showing bass capabilities similar to the venerable JBL 705 finally wore on me and I picked up a pair for the desktop. Like the previous KH 80 they are mounted on Neumann LH 65 stands.

First impression was they’re deceptively bigger than the previous KH 120, which I rejected previously because they didn’t sound much different/better than KH 80 but were bigger.

Second impression is they have a funny height alignment mechanism - the woofer dust cap is visible through the grille. If they’re too low you get an unsightly arc under the dustcap! When the dustcap and grille bump-out are aligned the height is right. Likely inadvertent, but clever nonetheless.

I think I’m going to keep them. As long as the KH 80 are around I’m going to be second guessing myself, as I’m still not entirely convinced KH 120 II is much if any better for listening to recorded music at one’s desk (as opposed to mixing/mastering, where the extra headroom on raw tracks may be critical) so I think I need to sell the ‘80s to foreclose that option…

 

[Drew456]

Of course this would not be convenient if permanent connection is needed (for network control, calibration tweaking etc.)

I have a simple 5 port switch permanently connected between my pc and Neumann's without any internet connection needed. I regularly use ma1 for toggling between sub and no sub, so need to keep the switch and cables hooked up. Works fine

 

[DuneArchitect]

Long term I would go for the ii with MA-1. But when you can get an old version for a good price you can sell it in a few years without loss and try to get a pair of KH120ii for a good price. But I would be to lazy for that, I just bought a pair ;-)

Yes I decided to go with the KH120ii with the MA1 mic, very excited. (Didn't see any 120A's for a good enough price)

Of course is it cheaper - it's 8" without DSP.
So when on a budget I would probably go with used KH120. When planning on doing an upgrade to the full Neumann System over time go with KH120ii but you would need the KH750 sub too cause of the crossover and phase management with MA-1 measurement system. And yes - this sub is really expensive for waht it does .... but MA-1 only works perfect when all components work together. And it makes a BIG difference.

Yes I'm aware that I won't be able to properly utilize the DSP while using the Genelec Sub, however I couldn't justify getting the KH750 just yet. I still want some low end extension, so picked up the Genelec 7050C for half of what the Neumann would cost me. Eventually I'll sell it and upgrade to the KH750.

In the mean time the 7050C has an active crossover at 85hZ, so using the Neumann DSP in the KH120ii's´ wouldn't be able to affect any frequencies below 85hz. I'll play around with the software anyway and see what kind of results I can get, however with this setup it probably makes more sense to use an in-the-box DRC like Sonarworks, ARC3, or Dirac Live that will be able to affect the entire frequency range before leaving my audio interface. (Although it might be interesting to still run the Neumann DSP correction, and then see what Sonarworks etc. applies on top of that)

 

[vssyla]

software is totally bugged for me... crashes everytime when i select "create new measurement" under "alignment". updated software and everything...

im on windows 10.... i've just posted this comment in the ma-1 software thread.

 

[vssyla]

Sure, but I meant the OP could buy a 10$ plain network 5-port switch for the calibration, directly connect loudspeakers and laptop with ethernet cables to the switch, do the calibration and remove the cables and switch.
No network wall outlets are required for this, nor any connection to the router.

Of course this would not be convenient if permanent connection is needed (for network control, calibration tweaking etc.)

*edit* ethernet adapter w/driver works with macbook -> switch -> neumanns. PC; eth -> switch -> neumanns works. now if i can get the software to not crash when i create a new setup... could be my SSL 12 with windows 10. its always had some bizzare driver issues, might bite the bullet and update to windows 11.

 

[Pearljam5000]

Well, this review and the Sound und Recording measurements showing bass capabilities similar to the venerable JBL 705 finally wore on me and I picked up a pair for the desktop. Like the previous KH 80 they are mounted on Neumann LH 65 stands.

First impression was they’re deceptively bigger than the previous KH 120, which I rejected previously because they didn’t sound much different/better than KH 80 but were bigger.

Second impression is they have a funny height alignment mechanism - the woofer dust cap is visible through the grille. If they’re too low you get an unsightly arc under the dustcap! When the dustcap and grille bump-out are aligned the height is right. Likely inadvertent, but clever nonetheless.

I think I’m going to keep them. As long as the KH 80 are around I’m going to be second guessing myself, as I’m still not entirely convinced KH 120 II is much if any better for listening to recorded music at one’s desk (as opposed to mixing/mastering, where the extra headroom on raw tracks may be critical) so I think I need to sell the ‘80s to foreclose that option…

So not much better than KH80?